Pirate station Radio Caroline sank

Pirate station Radio Caroline sank - On This Day: Pirate station Radio Caroline sank - At 23:58 that night the final broadcast was made by British DJs Stevie Gordon and Tom Anderson.

This classic newsreel looks at life aboard the ship that hosts Radio Caroline, and features a young Tony Blackburn.

March 20: After 16 years of tearing up the airwaves the bell finally appeared to toll for pirate station Radio Caroline.

Disc jockeys had been pop picking for Caroline since 1964 and had used the good ship Mi Amigo as their floating studio since 1972.

But on March 19, 1980, a violent storm broke out off the coast of Essex. The ship's anchor chain broke, causing the vessel to drift for 10 nautical miles until she ran aground on a sandbank.

The mast of the ship 'Mi Amigo' can be seen above the water (Photo by Associated Newspapers / Rex Features)

The ship began to take in water and after struggling for eight hours with portable pumps the four-man crew -  including DJs Stevie Gordon and Tom Anderson -  conceded defeat and were rescued by lifeboat.

At 23:58 that night the final broadcast on board the Mi Amigo was made.

"I'm sure we'll be back one way or another," said the duo. "For the moment, from all of us, goodbye and God Bless."

The ship finally sank in the early hours of March 20, leaving only the mast visible above the surface of the water.

Radio Caroline began broadcasting on March 28, 1964, from a former Danish ferry that was renamed 'Caroline'. The boat floated three miles off the coast of Felixstowe and was Britain's first pirate station.

Pirate radio broadcast pop and rock music in an effort to skirt around the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the UK and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. The unlicensed broadcasting was actually illegal.

The colour Pathé clip featured above shows the everyday life of the radio's crew in 1965 -  a far cry from the Mi Amigo's sad demise.

In the clip the DJs spend their time choosing tracks, writing scripts and answering fan mail from some of their listeners - which numbered in the millions at the station's peak. To pass away the time the crew - which includes a young Tony Blackburn -  are also seen playing chess.

The narrator says: "You can't say life's exciting abroad a pirate radio."

Radio Caroline did resurface though after the Mi Amigo incident. In August 1983 it re-commenced broadcasts abroad the 'MV Ross Revenge'. Amazingly it still survives today and is currently legally broadcast on the internet. ( Yahoo! News )

Radio Caroline DJs at work (Photo by Associated Newspapers / Rex Features)

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Life's Simple 7 Plan Revealed

The seven golden rules to leading a healthy lifestyle that 'can cut your cancer risk by half' - Life's Simple 7 plan revealed: Being physically active and eating a healthy diet just some of the factors that can cut risk of cancer and heart disease - The secret to a long and healthy life can be achieved by following seven 'golden rules,' it's been unearthed today.

Experts have revealed seven simple steps for a healthy lifestyle, which can help cut your risk of cancer by half and reduce your chances of heart disease.

The seven simple steps to helping prevent cancer and heart disease have been unearthed [Rex]

'Life's Simple 7' list comprised of being physically active, eating a healthy diet, keeping a healthy weight, maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, keeping blood pressure down, regulating blood sugar levels and not smoking.

According to the study, which was conducted by the American Heart Association, adhering to at least six of the rules could dramatically reduce your risk of cancer - as much as 51 per cent.

Following four of the rules led to a 33 per cent risk reduction, while one or two would cut your chances by 21 per cent.

The study was conducted on 13,253 people over 20 years. At the start they were interviewed and examined to determine their health factors.

Around 20 years later, researchers reviewed hospital records and discovered 2,880 of the participants had cancer, primarily of the lung, colon, rectum, prostate and breast.

Interestingly, the study was originally compiled to ward off heart disease, but new research revealed these seven golden rules could also help prevent cancer.

Speaking about the findings, a lead researcher said they key message of the study was "It's never too late to change."

Laura Rasmussen-Torvik, of the University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said: "This adds to the very strong body of literature that it's never too late to change and that if you make changes like quitting smoking and improving your diet, you can reduce your risk for both cardiovascular disease and cancer."

The new findings follow on from a number of investigations into Brits' lifestyles, primarily into what we eat.

The horsemeat scandal recently uncovered the real content of some convenience meals, while another revealed the alarming amount of 'hidden salt' in our foods.

The investigations may have rocked faith in the food industry, but as top nutritionist Marilyn Glenville revealed - the fall-out is "brilliant" news for our health and waistlines.

She said: "It's a brilliant change. People are now paying more attention to the source of their foods and realising that if they cook it from scratch they'll know what's in there - rather than buying convenience meals."

A new survey confirmed there had been a dramatic change in Brit's shopping habits too, with many of us ditching convenience foods to go back to a healthier, basic diet. ( Yahoo Lifestyle )

Life's Simple 7:

1. Being physically active

2. Maintaining a healthy diet

3. Sticking to a healthy weight

4. Maintaining good cholestrol levels

5. Keeping blood pressure down

6. Regulating blood sugar levels

7. Not smoking

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Elephant Campaign Targets China Consumers

Elephant Campaign Targets China Consumers - The power of the internet is being used to transcend language and cultural barriers in an effort to halt a massive spike in the slaughter of elephants in east Africa.

A leading elephant welfare charity has launched a campaign with the help of New York artist Asher Jay aimed at targeting Chinese consumers who are thought to be fuelling the illegal and bloody trade in ivory.

"Last year's unofficial figure was 149 dead of which 139 were illegally killed, and there are many more uncounted." Dr Joyce Poole, the co-founder of ElephantVoices told Sky News in an email from her field research in the Maasai Mara game reserve in Kenya.

"In the last few days I have had word of five dead from one area of the Mara. This could all be stopped if we can get the word out in Asia. Surely people need to understand that tusks have to be hacked out with an axe."

The charity is basing its campaign on two works of art commissioned from artist Asher Jay. The two posters display slogans written in Chinese.

The slogans read 'Every Tusk Costs A Life; Don't Buy Ivory' and 'Every Tusk Costs A Life; Stop The Trade' and the Chinese characters are designed to resemble elephants.

"ElephantVoices is doing something unique by making the graphic art available online in several versions, so they can be shared on social networks and be used for T-shirts, bumper-stickers, posters and banners", executive director Petter Granli said.

Sky News has decided to make a Chinese translation of this article available online in an attempt to broaden awareness of the campaign. The article will be posted on the Chinese version of Twitter - Weibo.

With an ever increasing foothold and influence in Africa, China is widely believed to be behind a concerning increase in ivory poaching which is illegal worldwide. The ivory is smuggled by ship and also in commercial flights from east Africa to China and other Asian countries.

There it is manufactured into high-end decorative goods which are increasingly popular with China's growing middle class. ElephantVoices and other charities are concerned that those who buy the ivory have no idea of the impact it is having.

"Tusks are not shed like antlers, they do not drop out and they just cannot be removed from living elephants. To obtain them you must hack them out with an axe." ElephantVoices explained in their campaign.

"The tusks of male elephants are much larger than those of females. Poachers target elephants with the largest tusks, killing the mature, breeding males first. When they are dead and gone, poachers set their sights on younger males."

But it is the legendary intelligence of the elephant which focuses attention on their plight that much more. Experts explain that in many cases, when an elephant is slaughtered, it cries out.

Other elephants then hear that crying and in keeping with their social nature, they follow the noise. They too are then drawn into the poachers trap.

"We are asking people to help us reach out to potential buyers of ivory who don't realise that elephants are dying in record-high numbers for trinkets and decorations. The only way to stop this wanton slaughter of elephants is to choke demand for ivory and stop the trade," Dr Poole said.

ElephantVoices describes elephant societies at the moment as resembling human communities after a prolonged war: most of the adult males - with their big tusks - have been killed.

"There are no role models for the elephant sons. As the number of adult males available to kill declines, poachers turn to the older females - the leaders of elephant society." ElephantVoices explained.

"They kill the family elders first, taking out the matriarchs, one by one. As the price of ivory increases with rising demand, the poachers slaughter the elephant mothers and daughters, causing the disintegration of entire families.

"An elephant's child, like a human child, cannot survive without the loving care of its mother. Africa's elephant orphans are succumbing in droves to starvation, grief and death."

ElephantVoices says it believes the Chinese government and the people of China have a special responsibility to end the killings. They claim that 90% of the ivory available in China is from slaughtered elephants.

"Chinese buyers deserve to know that tens of thousands of elephants are being killed to supply them with ivory. Every tusk costs a life. China has the ability to raise public awareness and to enforce their strict laws to quickly strangle the trading, buying and poaching," Ms Poole said.

"China can stop her countrymen causing the destruction of Africa's heritage and biodiversity, while concurrently protecting her enormous investments on the African continent. We urge China to take action now to end any trade in ivory - we cannot afford to lose Africa's keystone species." she said. ( Sky News )

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Chinese Ye, 12, enters European Tour record books

Chinese Ye, 12, enters European Tour record books - Twelve-year-old Ye Wocheng became the youngest golfer to qualify for a European Tour event when the Chinese schoolboy survived a late wobble to grab a place at the Volvo China Open on Wednesday.

Ye's two round two-under-par total of 142 at the Western China qualifier earned him a spot at the May 2-5 European and OneAsia Tour event and his participation will see him better the mark of his compatriot Guan Tianlang, who competed last year as a 13-year-old.

The amateur who lives in the industrial city of Donggaun in Guangdong province and is a member of the local Hillview Golf Club had his father caddying for him as he belied his age and lack of experience to claim one of the three places on offer.

After shooting an opening four-under 68 on Tuesday, Ye raced to the turn in his second round leading the field on seven-under after four birdies on Wednesday, but the pressure began to tell on a tumultuous back nine.

Shots were dropped at the 11th and 14th before he appeared to settle down with a birdie two at the 15th only to rack up a horror eight at the par five 16th.

His opening 27 holes had, however, provided an ample cushion and he could even afford to drop another shot on the last hole and claim the third and final place with two shots to spare.

Eighteen-year-old Li Xinyang and Jin Da Xing finished joint first on five-under 139 at the Wolong Valley Country Club with no other player finishing under par.

The 19th edition of the Volvo China Open will take place at the Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club in north-east China. ( Reuters )

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Nightmare zoo in Indonesia shaken by giraffe death

Nightmare zoo in Indonesia shaken by giraffe death — The tigers are emaciated and the 180 pelicans packed so tightly they cannot unfurl their wings without hitting a neighbor. Last week, a giraffe died with a beachball-sized wad of plastic food wrappers in its belly.

That death has focused new attention on the scandalous conditions at Indonesia's largest zoo. Set up nearly a century ago in one the most biologically diverse corners of the planet, it once boasted the most impressive collection in Southeast Asia.

 

In this Saturday, March 10, 2012 photo, a moon bear which suffers from a skin tumor sits inside a cage at the quarantine section of Surabaya Zoo in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. Indonesia's biggest zoo, once boasting one of the most impressive and well cared for collections of animals in Southeast Asia, is struggling for its existence following reports of suspicious animal deaths and disappearances of endangered species. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

But today the Surabaya Zoo is a nightmare, plagued by uncontrolled breeding, a lack of funding for general animal welfare and even persistent suspicions that members of its own staff are involved in illegal wildlife trafficking.

The rarest species, including Komodo dragons and critically endangered orangutans, sit in dank, unsanitary cages, filling up on peanuts tossed over the fence by giggling visitors.

"This is extremely tragic, but of course by no means surprising in Indonesia's zoos, given the appalling way they are managed on the whole," said Ian Singleton, a former zookeeper who now runs an orangutan conservation program on Sumatra island.

The zoo came under heavy fire two years ago following reports that 25 of its 4,000 animals were dying every month, almost all of them prematurely. They included an African lion, a Sumatran tiger and several crocodiles.

The government appointed an experienced zookeeper, Tony Sumampouw, to clean up the operation and he struggled, with some success, to bring the mortality rate down to about 15 per month.

But following last week's death of the 30-year-old giraffe "Kliwon" — who had for years been eating litter and trash thrown into its pen and was found with a 18-kilogram (40-pound) ball of plastic in its stomach — Sumampouw said he's all but given up.

Nothing short of a "total renovation" is needed, he said.

"We need to either think about privatizing or transferring out some of the animals."

With entrance fees of less than $2, critics say there's not enough money to care for the animals, much less invest in improving the zoo's facilities.

One of the biggest problems is overcrowding.

Whereas most zoos limit the number of animals born in captivity — taking into consideration how many can reasonably be cared for or exchanged with other zoos — the notion of "family planning" has not yet taken off here. Contraceptives are expensive and there are not adequate facilities to separate males and females. As result, species at the Surabaya zoo are bred to excess.

The 180 pelicans are kept in a pen the size of a volleyball court. Nearby, 16 tigers — 12 Sumatran and four Bengalese — are kept in a prison-like row of concrete cages.

One white tiger, whose parents were donated by the Indian government nearly 20 years ago, is now covered by skin lesions.

Let out so rarely, she suffers from back complications that make it difficult to just stand up, let alone walk, zoo curator Sri Pentawati said.

"There are too many tigers," she lamented. "We have a hard time rotating them out to get all the exercise they need."

Rahmat Shah — a well known big-game hunter with a museum in the city of Medan that is filled with rhinos, big cats and other animals he's shot around the world — currently heads Indonesia's National Zoo Association. He says none of the zoos run by the government are in good condition, but that Surabaya is especially troubled, due to a bitter internal rift.

Two men who each claimed to be the zoo's chief were fired several years ago, but their followers among the staff have continued the feud.

Police believe the poisoning death of a Javan warthog in January, found with traces of cyanide in its stomach, was linked to that conflict.

"One side is always trying to discredit the other," said Ludvie Achmad, head of a local conservation agency.

Sumampouw acknowledged he has had little success in controlling the undisciplined staff.

He said he believes some animals, including three young Komodos that disappeared last year, were stolen by caretakers and sold into the exotic pet trade.

Zookeepers also have been accused of taking meat meant for the tigers and selling it in the local market. ( Associated Press )

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Gangnam Rile: Psy’s Past Anti-American Performances Stir Controversy

Gangnam Rile: Psy’s Past Anti-American Performances Stir Controversy - Before he was elevated to international superstardom this year thanks to the magic of his invisible horse dance, Psy was a rapper and music producer in his native South Korea with a bad-boy reputation. In the late ’90s he dropped out of Boston University and the Berklee School of Music without earning degrees, was fined for his first album in 2001 for using “inappropriate lyrics,” and in 2007 he came under investigation for shirking mandatory military duty in South Korea. Now there’s another indiscretion to add to the “Gangnam Style” star’s rap sheet: Psy is coming under fire for a pair of shocking anti-American performances he gave a decade ago.

 

Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images - Psy performs onstage during the 17th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Lotte Hotel on October 6, 2012 in Busan, South Korea.

According to Korean media reports, during a 2002 performance Psy hoisted a toy model of a U.S. tank and proceeded to smash it on the stage with a microphone stand, later joining the crowd in anti-American chants. Busan Haps reports that there was video of this incident posted on YouTube until recently, when it was removed by an entertainment company citing copyright claims. Psy’s on-stage protest was spurred by the killing of two 14-year-old Korean girls when they were run over by an American military vehicle on a South Korean road just north of Seoul. Anti-American sentiment was high, though the two soldiers driving the vehicle were found not guilty of negligent homicide during a court martial.

In 2004, Psy took the stage with a number of other popular South Korean performers at a protest concert to perform a song called “Dear America,” originally written by N.E.X.T., a South Korean metal band. Psy, along with the other musicians, sang along to the lyrics, which read:

Kill those f—ing Yankees who have been torturing Iraqi captives

Kill those f—ing Yankees who ordered them to torture

Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law, and fathers

Kill them all slowly and painfully

The 2004 concert was in protest of the al-Qaeda kidnapping of a South Korean missionary in Iraq. When South Korea refused to negotiate, refusing the terrorists’ demand that Seoul cancel its plan to send soldiers to help the U.S. fight the war in Iraq, the missionary was beheaded, and South Koreans took to the streets to protest the killing. These reports put Psy front-and-center in the protest concert, rapping about killing American soldiers.

After intense media scrutiny this week, the 34-year-old pop star issued a statement through a publicist Friday afternoon.

While I’m grateful for the freedom to express one’s self I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted. I will forever be sorry for any pain I have caused anyone by those words.

…

I have learned that though music, our universal language we can all come together as a culture of humanity and I hope that you will accept my apology.

In the letter, he cites his appreciation for the sacrifices of American servicemen and women, and his November 23 appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno specifically for members of the military. Indeed, Psy has appeared on countless talk shows in America in the latter half of 2012, offering nothing but effusive thanks to the nation for helping him become a household name.

Amid the controversy, a petition circulated to stop Psy’s scheduled performance at the White House’s annual Christmas In Washington event. The petition, posted on the Obama administration’s official “We the People” petition website, was ultimately taken down, citing a violation of the site’s Terms of Participation, but it asked the White House to rescind Psy’s invitation. It had nearly 500 signatures when it was removed Friday afternoon.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday that the Obama family will still attend the Christmas In Washington performance on Dec. 21, and Psy’s invitation hadn’t been revoked. It’s unlikely that these newly dug-up anecdotes will depose Psy from his king-like level of stardom. But perhaps, at the White House concert, at least, the invisible lassoing and galloping will be somewhat subdued. ( newsfeed.time.com )

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Austrians debate what to do with baby Hitler's home

Austrians debate what to do with baby Hitler's home - A suggestion to turn the Austrian house where Adolf Hitler was born into normal residential space has triggered a debate about how best to use an empty property still packed with historic baggage decades after World War Two ended.

The man who became Nazi dictator was born in the house in Braunau on the Inn, a town near Salzburg on the German border, in April 1889. His family lived there only three years, but his link to the three-storey building has left an indelible mark.

A retired local woman now owns the property, which Austria's federal interior ministry has been renting since 1972 and has sublet to Braunau.

According to media accounts, the building - an inn when Hitler's family rented space there - has housed a library, a bank, classrooms and most recently a charitable organization's workshop for handicapped people, which moved out a year ago.

The question of what to do with it now is exposing splits between those who want to highlight its past and those who want to turn the page on an inglorious chapter of local history.

The mayor of Braunau, Johannes Waidbacher, caused a stir with a newspaper interview in which he proposed making the house into a standard residence.

"You have to ask in general whether another Holocaust memorial makes sense when there are already many around here," the mayor, born 21 years after the war's end, told Der Standard.

"We are stigmatized anyway. Hitler spent the first three years of his life in the city, and it was certainly not the most formative phase of his life. We as the city of Braunau are thus not prepared to take responsibility for the outbreak of World War Two," he was quoted last week as saying.

In a statement on Monday, Waidbacher rowed back a bit, saying "this house can never be allowed to become a shrine for die-hards" but also pointing out the city had a limited say.

"In the end the decision is up the interior ministry and the owner," he added.

An interior ministry spokesman said no decisions had been made yet, adding the most important thing was preventing neo-Nazi "mischief" from going on there. He said there were no plans to let the property be used as a residence.

The owner's identity has not been published.

Andreas Maislinger, a local historian and political scientist, has lobbied for years to turn the property into a state-owned "house of responsibility" that would serve as an international meeting place for young people.

The centre could offer reflections on Austrians' history, coordinate social projects and host workshops on projects such as ensuring the rights of Roma in Europe, he said.

"Thus the small city of Braunau would become a place of international understanding," he suggested.

"Braunau is a symbol because Adolf Hitler was born there, and the fact that this house has a certain symbolic significance means you have to handle it properly," he said.

Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, and a debate still smoulders on whether Austrians were Hitler's first victims or willing accomplices. ( Reuters )

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